Recorded July, 2007, Dallas, Tx.

This is from the band, Revival, and is a remake and rearrangement of Silvertones guitarist/vocalist, Leo Delavega's cool original.  Minor key, jazzy, great energy level, fun jam. 

Recorded October, 2005, Club Dada, Dallas, Tx.

This is from the band, Revival, and is a remake and rearrangement of Silvertones guitarist/vocalist, Leo Delavega's cool original.  Minor key, jazzy, great energy level, fun jam.

Solo order:  Part I, Yours Truly.  Part II, Jim on keys, Part III, Skeeter Harrison. 

Laid back Sunday afternoon jam.  That's Art, the bass player, talking in the background, calling the chord changes for Sparky, the keyboardist.  Sparky actually knew the changes, but we let Art call them anyway.  It makes him happy. 

Marcy is awesome on here - makes the hair stand up on the back of my neck. 

I have no idea what influenced the guitar solo, it seems to fit.

Modern latin rhythm, minor key blues guitar solo on this lesser known Johnny Copeland cover.  Exceptional, very lively rhythm section here with Wild Will, Skeeter and John, three awesome, dynamic players.

Hats off to bassist and backup vocalist, Art Hoffman, who nabbed this incredibly well mixed set of Uptown Bar and Grill recordings by tossing some microphones around the stage, and mixing in a feed from the PA (vocals and sax only), all with a basic 4-track recorder.  Some nights things just work out.

Based on the Derek Trucks Band version of this Meters classic instrumental.  Recorded with a home video camera stereo microphone placed near the sound console during the first song of the night, so you hear some animated discussion in the background regarding sound levels. 

Recording this way is helpful to get an idea of what the live audience is actually hearing.  This is also a good way to grade the performance of the sound tech.  In this case, that would be Larry of LA Sound and Lighting, a guy whose services and large room sound system we've used for over 10 years who always gets high marks. 

Booker T. classic instrumental performed with Sam Bifano's Blues Cruise.  Aside from getting together with Rob and Sam one evening, this was a totally unrehearsed gig, so credit is due to all the amazing players who participated:  Rob, Sam, Kevin, John, and Buddy magazine, Texas Tornado, Charlie Lowe on keyboards. 

Charlie's keyboards take this one in and out.  Sandwiched in the middle, the guitar solo order is: 1. Rob Donovan, 2. Yours Truly,  3. Sam Bifano.

Straight-ahead, slow blues performed by Revival.  The first and last guitar solo are mine, the middle is Skeeter Harrison's.

A bit over the top, but what the heck.  Loads of fun to play 'back in the day'.

An instrumental by Traffic in the key/mode of A dorian minor.  Obscure, but cool jazzy tune with lots of energy.

Cool shuffle featuring horn parts made up of sax and guitar, also known as The Fins Half a Horn Section.  More outstanding vocals by Marcy and an incredibly tight rhythm thanks to Art on bass and Mark on drums.  The guitar solo is a semi-copy of one by Derek O'Brian, Austin, Txpremiere blues guitarist and Antone's session player-deluxe who recorded this song with Lou Ann Barton.  Blues fans check out anything this guy has done. 

Classic Rock Staple and a guilty pleasure.  A total blast to play live.  Like the saying goes, "if I had to explain, you probably wouldn't get it." 

Guitar Gear-Heads, Note:  What you may find surprising about this cut and the Red House cuts here is how a '67 Fender Super Reverb can sound so much like a vintageMarshall. 

Recorded November, 2005, Lakewood Bar & Grill, Dallas, Tx.

Classic Allman Brothers Instrumental.  In the unlikely event you don't recognize the title, you'll recognize the song. 

This is from the band, Revival.  Solo order:  Part I and Part II, Yours Truly.  Part III, Jim on keys, Part IV, Skeeter Harrison.

The Fins, September, 2004, outdoors at Mario's Chiquita, Plano, Tx

Low Rider, a cool, standard 'groove' jam, gets turned on its ear here with a classic, Jeff Beck riff. 

Low Rider, a cool, standard 'groove' jam, gets turned on its ear here with a classic, Jeff Beck riff.  Another Fins gig where Jim, Art, Hal and David prove that commercially accessible tunes can be fun and exciting.

Another cut from The Fins, a group I've had the pleasure of working with since the late 80's.  We've done this one over the years both with vocals and as an instrumental.  This one is from an instrumental version. 

A huge plus to playing with these guys all these years is Art on bass and Mark on drums, who can go from full fledged rock to a soulful swing like this in the blink of an eye, and really pull it off. 

Guitar influences on this include Dickie Betts and 70's era Allan Holdsworth.

Spontaneous jam session.

Kind of a noisy cut, but a good, sparkling guitar and amp tone.  Solo is somewhat influenced by Eric Johnson.

Ok, here's the whole enchilada.  Another microphone-in-the-crowd recording job, but captures the excitement well.

Guitar gear notes:Marshall like sound from a Fender Super Reverb on this classic Hendrix cover. 

Part II of the above. 

This classic Boz Skaggs swing/shuffle from the 70s is more fun to play than people should have standing up.  I debated including it here - at times it's more like a free-for-all - but the energy level is very high and the rhythm is tight, and that seems to redeem any performance flaws.  Check out Popcorn's driving beat and accents, and check out Sparky's realistic sounding, hair-raising horn parts on keyboards.  Also note the horn parts over the last verse - a combination of guitar and keyboard riffs. 

Like a lot of hollow body guitars, the Epiphone Casino used here, IMO, sounds great just plugged straight into a pure tube amp and cranked up.  You decide.

Click Here to download the COMPLETE SONG, MP3 file size, 3.5MB.

Ronnie Earl swing/shuffle instrumental featuring "half-a-horn section", guitar and sax parts. 

Tried and true blues shuffle.  Very trumpet-like guitar tone.  Surprises most people to hear this from a Gibson SG, a great guitar for all kinds of sounds.  Dynamic, exciting rhythm laid down by Wild Will, Skeeter and John. 

Slightly different take, better recording quality on this clip.  This was done by the band, Revival, during rehearsal.  Very tight rhythm section.

Latin Jazz Fusion Interpretation of this tune by Pharoah Sander’s with a bridge written by blues guitarist, Ronnie Earl.  Clip played by Revival that features some truly amazing dynamics by Jake, Paul and Skeeter.  

Even if you're not into the jazzy stuff, you' might enjoy this one.  Paul Miller makes it come alive.

Andrea Dawson Blues Band.  The first solo is an example of the "string snapping" style of guitar lead that playing a Telecaster sometimes inspires. 

Andrea Dawson Blues Band.  Very cool, rich, organic tone from an SG that sounds at times like a Gibson semi hollow body.  Good tight rhythm, thanks to Mark and Drew.  Thanks to Andrea for the talent and direction.
 

Revival, November, 2005, Lakewood Bar & Grill, Dallas, Tx.

Derek & The Dominoes, Eric Clapton & Duane Allman tune from the Layla album.  Great jam at the end.   

Solo order:  Intro - Jim, Part I - Skeeter, Part II - Yours Truly, followed by Skeeter on two guitar jam